A Treatment is a Treatment (Is a Treatment, Darn it!)

You can have me read this article to you instead of reading it yourself…

Or you can read it the old-fashioned way below…

Natural vs unnatural. Holistic vs medicated. Diet vs lifestyle. We have so many contrasted ways to look at things in our world.

Why?

I don’t have a good answer to that question. I don’t believe that there is a good reason why. I believe that the media and many money-making schemes are responsible for a lot of these viewpoints. But those are not good reasons. They just half-heartedly answer the question of why.

A “treatment” can come in a variety of forms, including (but most definitely not limited to!) diet choices, lifestyle changes, medications, supplements, acupuncture, and herbal remedies. Each of these seems to fall to one side of an invisible line in our discussions on these topics.

So, you’re probably asking me how it is that a treatment is a treatment is a treatment? Are we not supposed to see a difference between each of these options?

Every Treatment is Different. But Every Treatment is a Treatment.

There are undeniable and significant differences between each of the treatment options that are presented to us over time. Each option has its own likelihood for helping or hurting. Each has its own way for accomplishing the end goal that we desire from utilizing it. But in the end, each of these options are treatments and they are all being used for the same ultimate purpose – improving health and quality of life.

So why is it that we always look at each of these treatments as though they exist in separate classes of their own? Is there a reason that we can’t see them as tools or pieces of one overarching strategy? Shouldn’t we be able to see each of our options as means to the same end?

If we were able to do this, to shift the way that we evaluate possible treatments, what would that look like? What would that result in for each of us?

Well, for one thing, we might be able to throw all of our treatment options onto a level playing field. We might finally be able to see each option more clearly through side-by-side comparisons. A level playing field might reveal overlaps, duplications, and items that are not necessary. This might allow us to see when a treatment may be truly valuable, as compared to when it’s really just an additional, and ultimately useless, burden.

Another impact of shifting our view of possible treatments is that it would allow us to see the whole picture. Considering every treatment as exactly that – a treatment – allows us to see the sum total of what we are currently doing. We would no longer have different categories or tiers that shield the actual treatment choices from our view.

With our current multiple-bucket approach to seeing things, we become blind to the reality of how many ‘things’ there are to see. We might not have realized how very many treatments we had added to our lives in our efforts to make ourselves feel better. Our diet bucket might include 5-10 dietary changes that we now see as some amalgam under the “diet” heading. Our herbal product bucket might contain 4 different herbal supplements, but we only see them as a combined concept of “herbal remedy”.

We Need to See the Forest for the Trees

It may finally be possible to set that medication right next to that supplement and evaluate each one for what it truly has to offer. What are the benefits of each? What are the side effects of each? If you have been using both of them, you may even be able to answer questions as they directly relate to you. How difficult is each one to take? Does either one prohibit you from doing something else (ie. participating in a certain physical activity or eating a food you enjoy)?

The problem is that adding and adding is not always better. And we won’t be able to see this clearly unless we shift our perspective. We should see each treatment for what it is, as opposed to seeing it behind the veil of the bucket that we’ve placed it into.

If you are…

Feeling overwhelmed by all of the things that you have to do ‘to maintain’ your health

Feeling that you are not actually better (or maybe even a little worse) for everything you are doing

…this change in perspective could be very illuminating as to why you are feeling this way.

A treatment is a treatment, and it is in our best interest to see each one as the means to the same end, for all of its individual faults, benefits, duplications, burdens, and more. Read more about applying this to your health and management here.

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The information found on this site is meant to enhance knowledge and understanding. No treatments or strategies should be altered based on the content of this site without consulting a physician that is directly involved in your care.